Kurdish women in Syria’s Derbasiya reviving practice of natural medicine
Lucas Chapman
DERBASIYA, Syria (North Press) – Khalisa Chelebi Ahmad stands in front of a shelf full of different-colored oils, diligently pouring them one at a time into a small empty water bottle on the shelf. “This is walnut oil,” she explains as she removes the lid and tips the thick black liquid into the small bottle in front of her, finally closing the bottle and shaking up the mixture. “This is for people with thinning hair or people losing their hair,” she says with a smile.
The Ari Center for Natural Medicine in northern Syria’s Derbasiya is a spartan facility – there is an office, a small kitchen, a physical therapy room and a room full of oils, herbs, and other natural medicines. The walls are decorated only with the flag of the Free Women’s Foundation and shelves with herbs and oils.
Ahmad began learning about natural medicine in her youth from her mother and grandmother, and has been practicing the trade for 28 years. She practiced out of her home until the Free Women’s Foundation of Syria secured a center. “I didn’t even think about it, I said yes,” she said, grinning. “This was something that I wanted.”
The center opened in April 2018, in what Ahmad describes as a big step both for the center and the Foundation. Six months after the center’s opening, the women working at the center decided to add a physical therapy section. “We have a lot of disabled children and women complaining about their backs,” Ahmad said. “Women are more comfortable with us.”
The center is also a low-cost alternative to the city’s hospital. According to one of the center’s physical therapists, Bidour, the Ari Center charges only one thousand Syrian pounds for a session which would cost as much as 3,500 in the city hospitals.
According to Ahmad, many patients who were frustrated by the side effects or ineffectiveness of pharmaceutical-based medicine or surgical intervention found the center much more helpful and accessible. She claims to have treated fertility issues, slipped discs, and many other afflictions by using natural medicines and physical therapy.
Ahmad is hopeful that the practice of natural and herbal medicine will leave a large impact on the region. “I learned this from my mother. But for thousands of years, people used natural medicine. And now, little by little, our people, families, and society are returning to natural medicine.” The center is taking steps to ensure that natural medical remedies are available to everyone. “We started a course and taught students in herbal medicine. We also have a book that, God willing, will be published soon. And we plan to do even better things in the future as well.